


dripping in gold

by chaes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Inspired by Midas and the Golden Touch (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, NCT Dream - Freeform, Past Character Death, masked festival, nct - Freeform, prince hyuck, prince johnny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 22:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19094617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaes/pseuds/chaes
Summary: cursed at birth, donghyuck lives with the guilt of the mistakes he had unknowingly made. the one time he decided to take a risk, he falls into the careful hands of mark, who isn’t as willing to let hyuck slip through his fingers.





	1. wilted petals

**Author's Note:**

> hiii! it’s arden. this is something i’ve been working on for a while and i have no idea how long it will be or how frequent my updates will be, but i hope you like it!!
> 
> twitter- @/frmios

Fingertips grazed across the surface of stems, flower petals, and leaves to sweep the morning dewdrops off. The further his hands moved, the more color escaped from the once lively plant. The young prince watched as the greenness and moisture ceased to exist. Petals and leaves wilted before him, and the stem let the bud droop as it could not support the weight any longer. 

He slid on gardening gloves to try again. Fingers pressed tight to the stem between them, land he had hope for a split second. Moments later, the peony nearly disintegrated in his grasp. 

The shriveled, blush petals lied still in his hands. His eyes welled with tears. The clear, pure blue of the tears had been tainted with an opaque hue of red.

It wasn’t that the flowers were not beautiful anymore, but when they had been robbed of their lives, something had happened inside of Hyuck. That was one thing they kept. Their elegance and allure. After the coarse pads of his fingertips stole the shining quality, it seemed as if it had lost purpose. A dead flower can’t bring joy. A dead flower can’t continue to grow. 

Making it even more painful, Donghyuck had a remarkable memory. His mind held every second of every death he had caused, even as frivolous as a flower. The greater his destruction was, the more vividly he recalled it. He can remember before many children’s memory is even feasible, which makes her death even more haunting. He could perfectly recall the black, poison-like substance trace trees across her skin. He hadn’t a clue what he was doing when he wrapped his tiny fist around her finger. Maybe that was part of the curse.

The curse wasn’t always this strong, and people weren’t always so distant. The curse was never this strong to begin with, it grew to be this powerful. Gloves worked but not for long. As Donghyuck grew, the strength of the curse only grew. The distance was his choice though. He had felt like he had already done enough damage and that the whole kingdom lived in fear of him. So, he made the executive decision to hide from the limelight brought upon him by royalty. He only agreed to show his face at his father’s request. It was rare when he did ask for an appearance from Hyuck, but when he did it wasn’t for much. 

Hyuck didn’t have to feel bad about not always being there. His father understood, and when needed, Donghyuck’s brother was always there to fill in. However, Johnny didn’t mind helping out and going to every occasion; he knew what it was like to lose someone you love to a curse. But their father only asked for one thing, to attend the Week of the Golden Sun. Seven days of his time because his father understood too. 

An extravagant, masked festival that happened once a year to celebrate Donghyuck’s birthday and the anniversary of his mother’s death. At the end of the week, there was a solar eclipse which shown a golden ring in the light of the night. 

Although it was masked, only the citizens partook in such festivities. The royals did not wish to be a part of it; at least, most of them didn’t. Johnny found it quite pleasurable spending every night of the festival out and exploring. He loved the festival and was the one who originally had proposed the event in honor of his mother, whom he loved so dearly, and of his baby brother who had stood by him ever since he lost his best friend. 

Everyone was bright and smiling. Typically, an anniversary of someone’s death would be a somber time, but this was more a celebration of life. The queen wouldn’t have wanted people shedding tears on her behalf, and she definitely wouldn’t have wanted anyone to feel any sort of guilt. 

Johnny’s favorite part was the sense of freedom he gained throughout the week. The royals, if they chose to go out past the ceremonies, did it like the citizens. Emerging masked was beneficial for Johnny because he liked being treated normal for once, that’s what made him feel free. Donghyuck wanted to be free. Not free of the weight of royalty, but free of the curse, free of the guilt that followed the death he carried on his shoulders. Maybe he could feel free soon. The festival was approaching quickly. 

Soon enough, his father would approach with the same spiel knowing that his son wouldn’t possibly say no. Spreading his hands in a circle as he leaned back in the grass, a ring of destruction, something he had come to be familiar with, swept across the grass around him. Hyuck noticed the brown dry grass he now sat on, and vexation overtook his body. He ripped up handfuls of the ground and threw his fists down in frustration. His powers so built up within his fists, the tension released like something he had never seen before. A stream of something unknown shot transversely through his flower beds in two straight surges, killing all the plants in its path.

At that moment, Donghyuck saw his father out of the corner of his eye. “Dad,” Hyuck spit out, expecting the other to pick the conversation up, and he did. 

“Hyuckie,” he paused to look at the garden, “your hyacinths are looking particularly pristine.” 

“They’re dead, father. Black, wilted, droopy, and dead. You don’t need to try and make me feel better.” He watched more leaves fall from the stems of his flowers. “I’ll fix it all later. Flowers grow back. They do as long as I keep my hands away from them. It’s okay, though. You looked like you had something to say though. What was it?” 

What seemed to be sadness painted his face. “As you are aware, the Week of the Golden Sun starts in a couple days. It’s a hard time for all of us because we all miss your mother, but it is your birthday as well.” His eyes began to fill, but he choked it back. “She wouldn’t want us shedding tears over her, and she wouldn’t want you to feel upset on your birthday. That is why this week is so important to us, the kingdom included. I know that you wish to protect others from yourself, but, as I do every year, I would like to ask you to accompany me, your brother, and the whole city in celebrating the gift of life you are to us.” 

For a second, he considered saying no. A lot of things had stopped him from doing so, but one thing in particular. He recalled that year he didn’t come and the year after that when he couldn’t make any promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. Donghyuck couldn’t miss anymore years. Maybe it was the energy from the eclipse or the thought that somehow his mother was still there, but that kept him going. 

Regardless, Donghyuck agreed to his father’s wishes even though that was the last thing he wanted to do because there wouldn’t have to be a festival if it weren’t for him.


	2. dreamshade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry but this chapter is kind of shorter...

Mark’s dining room table was home to a growing pile of tinsel, glitter, and sequins this time of year. His mother ran the biggest mask shop of the season, and they were all handmade. Mark never had time to actually go to the festival because he was working with her, but this year his mother insisted that he go out and actually experience the excitement of the Week of the Golden Sun for himself. 

His mother wanted it to be special for Mark because he had been to the very first festival, only not remembering so. This year, however, she had a special surprise for her son. It was his first year actually participating, and she wanted him to have a mask that encompassed his spirit that he tried to hold inside. She had carefully crafted a magenta mask covered in gems and sequins. She began to tell him that it wasn’t quite complete yet because it still had to get fit for his face. Purple and pink roses sprung out of the side of the mask accompanied by baby’s breath.

Mark’s mother held the mask up to his face and tied it tightly to his head with lilac-colored lace. His fingers traveled up to the spot on his face where the mask rested on his cheekbones; his whole body turned towards the looking glass. 

As his hand moved up to flowers sprouting from his temple, his mother swatted it away. “The glue is still drying don’t mess with it, Love.” She pulled one of the ends of the lace away from his head, resulting in it smoothly falling off the bridge of his nose into his cupped hands. 

“It’s beautiful, Mom.” He handed it back to her, “But what is it for?”

Her hand gripped on Mark’s chin as her brows furrowed. “This is a big deal, so stop playing it down. Not only is it a celebration for the queen and her son, but I took you the very first year.. This is special, for your family and your kingdom.”

“Who even is the prince, anyways? He’s my age, and I understand he is one of the royals, but why have I never seen him in person?” Mark challenged. 

“My son, everyone has their reasons. The prince is no exception. You will see him at the festival ceremony, maybe even talk to him this year.” She smiled sweetly. “I met him once when he was young. He’s a really gentle boy, and I hope you’ll have the honor to speak with him.”

Mark didn’t ever seem to care about going to the festival. He fine staying to himself, manning their little shop, while his parents enjoyed themselves watching the ceremonies. However, his mother was right, on two points for that matter. It was a special time, and everyone has their own reasoning for every decision they make. And Hyuck had a very valid reason to hide from the golden light.

Every festival, it’s almost as if he was transported back to the day of his birth. His little fist wrapping around her seemingly giant finger. Immediately after he came in contact with her perspiring skin, a stream of black dreamshade laced through her veins. Slowly traveling through her bloodstream until it reached and infected her heart. Little Hyuck had no knowledge of what he was doing, nor did anyone think he would have any memory of doing so. Swept away quickly by gloved hands, the newborn was placed in his crib while the bedside nurses tended to the slowly dying mother. 

Once the dreamshade took her heart, it was over. “My son!” She called out. One last time, she wanted to hold her son. The flood of nurses and doctors alike obeyed the dying queen’s last wish. And as she held him close to her chest, her arms went limp, and the final breath pushed off her lips. 

Donghyuck jumped out of his vivid memories with the closing exhale of his mother’s life. Chills ran down his spine. His eyes were cold. Almost fading to grey, and they slowly deepened back to their dark-shaded brown. 

 

If only the kingdom knew like the royals did. But no one could understand his pain as much as Johnny. The big brother had lost his best friend, but, somehow, he found the courage to be friends with the boy who took her away. With the death of his best friend, he grew to find a new best friend in his younger brother. Regardless of Donghyuck’s suspicion, it was never pity, and Johnny did everything he could to remind him of that.

Johnny was the exact opposite of his younger brother. He was sociable and outgoing. They called him the people’s prince, and everyone loved him. Besides the kingdom’s vision of the princes, they were quite similar. Johnny hated the way some people in the kingdom looked at his little brother, even though they didn’t know the truth, they felt there was enough information to judge just by him not showing his face often. Johnny was determined to change that for the little prince this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please anticipate the next chapter!! the next time i upload, the boys will be going to the week of the golden sun festival!!
> 
> twitter - frmios

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading !!


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